Before the mumps vaccination became widely available, three to four million cases hit the U.S. population every year, resulting in the most common cause of sterility in post-puberty males and a major cause of childhood deafness. In WWI, mumps disrupted the front lines, striking down as many men as 56 per 1,000. The Allies were fighting the war on two fronts, first against the Axis powers and secondly, against the mumps virus and other illnesses. More soldiers died of diseases in this war than of enemy fire.

In 2014, the National Hockey League had a small outbreak of mumps. In less than a month, between November and December, 18 players came down with the mumps with several other suspected cases. Close contact in locker rooms and sleeping quarters while on the road gives mumps an ideal environment in which to flourish. Also with so many international players, vaccination standards differ by country, leaving some more vulnerable than others.

What is mumps?

Mumps is a virus-borne illness generally not serious in children but could lead to painful and debilitating illnesses in adults. It starts with a few days of fever, muscle aches, headache, tiredness, respiratory problems, and loss of appetite. The most noticeable symptom of mumps which occurs up to 65 percent of the time is parotitis, or swelling of the salivary glands, located just under the ears. Symptoms typically appear between 12 and 18 days after infection but it could be as long as 25 days before signs of mumps appear.

Serious complications for post-puberty males include inflammation of either one or both of the testicles. For post-puberty females, inflammation of the ovaries or breasts may occur. These complications have been known to cause sterility problems in both males and females. More rarely, mumps can cause inflammation of the brain, known as encephalitis, or the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, aka meningitis. Mumps encephalitis accounts for nearly 36 percent of all cases in this country with men three times more likely to be affected than women. Permanent deafness is also another mumps affliction.

Mumps is spread through droplets of saliva or mucus from the mouth, nose or throat of the sufferer. Sneezing, coughing and talking can all spread the virus. Close contact like sharing a dorm room or home with someone affected with mumps or crowded conditions like sporting events or parties, could get you in trouble, especially in the colder months of the year. People tend to gather together inside during these months, making the virus more easily spread.


Outbreaks and Findings

In 2006, there was a mumps outbreak that started at an Iowa university, then spread to other Midwestern states. In one month, there were more than 1,600 cases reported and by the time the outbreak had run its course, more than 6,000 people had been stricken with mumps. Researchers studying the outbreak have come up with several important findings.

The relatively low vaccination rate among Iowa youth was a contributing factor along with close contact in quarters such as dorms, classrooms and cafeterias. Because mumps is rarely in the news, vaccination rates have been falling. There are 15 states with vaccination rates lower than 90 percent. This, say experts, is an outbreak waiting to happen.

Another issue, this time with the vaccine itself, is also thought to be a contributing element. Experts believe the mumps vaccine wears off over time, with a resulting loss of efficacy. U.S. News reports that the mumps portion of the three-virus vaccine commonly used in the U.S., MMR, is less effective than the measles and rubella vaccines.

Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, says the mumps portion of the vaccine also becomes less effective after about ten years. "We’ve never eliminated mumps," he says. "It doesn’t induce as long-lasting of a response as measles and rubella." Officials consider measles and rubella eradicated from this country.

Research has revealed that measles immunity decreases in older persons. That could be due to the vaccine’s waning immunity. It could also point to genetic mutations in the wild mumps virus which renders the vaccine less effective. A study revealed that the mumps vaccine had a lower rate of efficacy when the attacking mumps virus possibly had mutational differences. More research is needed into this problem.


Anti-vaccine Movement and a Doctor’s Advice

Another problem in this country is a small but vocal movement calling for parents not to vaccinate their children for fear of triggering autism in the child. This philosophy, also known as the “anti-vaxxer movement,” is based on a nearly two-decade old study. In this report, a U.K. researcher purportedly found a link between the MMR vaccination and autism due to a compound used in the vaccine. This study has been discredited multiple times, and the researcher lost his medical license, but there are still those who believe in this correlation. But a doctor’s advice may be a remedy against this kind of misinformation.

A clinician’s recommendation is the strongest influence on what a parent decides to do about vaccinating their children, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s also important for clinicians to listen and to make sure they understand what concerns and questions the parents have and that they address them and take them seriously,” she said. “Because, bottom line, the parents want to keep their children healthy and they want good information in order to do that.”